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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — to cut
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. plane — a tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — a series
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. saw — the tool
  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