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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 · cap · fork · pit · land · roll · kick · plane

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. roll — a cake
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. plane — a tool
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cap — of ice
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pit — a hole
  19. roll — a list
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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