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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: court · pit · file · mate · plane · can · hand · scale

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — of law
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. court — of a king
  9. pit — a hole
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. can — a tin
  12. plane — a tool
  13. scale — in music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pit — in a race
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mate — to breed
  19. hand — help
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. file — a document
  22. can — a tin
  23. file — a tool
  24. scale — size or range

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