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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. ground — a position
  3. row — to paddle
  4. face — to confront
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — child
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fork — in a road
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — crushed
  13. plane — a tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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