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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. court — for sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — magic
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wake — a trail
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. court — of a king
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spell — a short time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. kid — child
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. spell — letters
  20. cold — an illness
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. date — on the calendar

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