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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. file — a line of people
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. court — of law
  6. drill — army training
  7. squash — to crush
  8. plane — a tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a tool
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. file — a document
  24. court — of a king

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