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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: mine · bark · game · fall · key · wound · date · plane

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. key — the most important part
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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