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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 116 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cap — a hat
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — a lid
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. sharp — clever
  10. swing — music
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — rain
  14. swing — to play on
  15. spell — letters
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bass — the fish
  18. plane — a tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bass — low music
  22. court — of law
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. swing — in golf

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