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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — hasty
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. shower — rain
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. club — for golf
  12. rash — a series
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — of a king
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. game — a match
  17. club — a group
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. court — for sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. game — wild animals
  23. club — for dancing
  24. plane — a tool

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