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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. track — a song
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of law
  10. kid — to tease
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. sharp — clever
  14. track — to keep track
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — of a king
  19. plane — a tool
  20. kid — child
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. swing — music
  24. track — a path

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