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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. plane — a tool
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. game — wild animals
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. court — of law
  8. chest — of your body
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — for sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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