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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — final
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cue — a signal
  8. last — to go on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. last — finally
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. mark — a grade
  13. file — a tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — help
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a line of people

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