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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 116 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: wave · club · fork · plane · bat · chair · track · net

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. track — a path
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. net — for catching
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — in a road
  7. club — for golf
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. track — to keep track
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. track — a song
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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