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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — the earth
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. present — a gift
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. net — for catching
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bark — to shout
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. sharp — clever

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