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

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — to paddle
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. row — a line
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. ground — crushed

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