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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: court · pound · wound · last · board · plane · rock · fork

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rock — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. fork — in a road
  11. court — of law
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. last — to go on
  16. board — to get on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rock — a stone
  21. court — for sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — a tool
  24. last — finally

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