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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. craft — boats
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — of law
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. ball — a dance
  17. game — a match
  18. craft — a skill
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fine — high quality
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitcher — a jug

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