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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. current — happening now
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — of water
  10. spell — a short time
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. current — electric
  15. content — happy
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — letters
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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