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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — for sport
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. court — of law
  7. last — final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — to go on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of a king
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. last — finally
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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