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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: bowl · toast · craft · cold · plane · tear · bay · court

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. plane — a tool
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. court — of law
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. court — of a king
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. court — for sport
  20. toast — bread
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — not warm
  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