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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bass — low music
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. march — the month
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. march — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a match
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cell — in biology
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. foot — a measure
  23. plane — a tool
  24. foot — the bottom

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