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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — a leader
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — a match
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — for sport

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