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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. plane — a tool
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. shower — to wash
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. court — for sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. shower — rain
  20. court — of a king
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com