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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — a country
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. plane — a tool
  6. net — after costs
  7. hand — help
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. net — in sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. hand — in cards
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — to come down
  16. net — for catching
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. plane — in geometry

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