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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. last — to go on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. can — a tin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. last — finally
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — a tin
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. can — to be able to
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — an illness
  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