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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · deal · court · ground · pit · plane · rock · drill

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. deal — to handle
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chest — of your body
  10. court — for sport
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. drill — army training
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rock — music
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. chest — a box

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