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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. ground — the earth
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. kid — child
  9. plane — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — a position
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. kid — to tease
  21. court — of a king
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ground — crushed

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