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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: pitcher · bark · cold · game · wake · rule · court · plane

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. game — a match
  3. court — for sport
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rule — a law
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rule — government
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. plane — an aircraft

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