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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. last — final
  3. game — a match
  4. pop — soda
  5. last — finally
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pop — to visit
  14. last — to go on
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. kick — in football
  21. pop — music
  22. court — of a king
  23. game — wild animals
  24. court — of law

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