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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: plane · hand · roll · craft · object · field · shower · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. hand — in cards
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. object — an aim
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. roll — a cake
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. craft — boats
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. field — a subject
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — a skill
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. object — to protest
  18. plane — a tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. object — a thing
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. field — for sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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