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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 · last · squash · bowl · bulb · chest · fork · roll

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. fork — in a road
  7. last — final
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. last — finally
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. chest — a box
  22. bulb — for light
  23. plane — a tool
  24. fork — a garden 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