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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · row · hand · snap · key · wake · court · mine

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. row — a line
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. mine — for digging
  8. court — for sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. snap — to click
  14. plane — a tool
  15. court — of law
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. key — for a lock
  19. row — to paddle
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — of a king
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mine — an explosive

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