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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
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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: net · fork · wake · chair · ball · plane · roll · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chair — a leader
  3. net — after costs
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — child
  7. net — for catching
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. roll — a list
  12. net — in sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. roll — a cake
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. plane — a tool
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ball — a great time

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