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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. court — of a king
  3. march — the month
  4. net — after costs
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. net — in sport
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cap — a hat
  10. plane — a tool
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. court — of law
  13. march — the month
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. march — music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cap — a lid
  21. hand — help
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cap — of ice
  24. net — for catching

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