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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kid — to tease
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — a short time
  8. kid — child
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. court — for sport
  13. game — wild animals
  14. court — of law
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of a king
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. spell — magic
  20. game — a match
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — an eyelash

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