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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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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: shower · fork · mine · plane · toast · court · mate · wake

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mate — a partner
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — a trail
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. toast — bread
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — rain
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. mate — a friend
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mine — for digging
  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