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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. deal — to handle
  14. game — a match
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fork — in a road
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. court — for sport
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fan — to cool the air

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