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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. rock — a stone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — rain
  9. spell — letters
  10. rest — what's left
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rock — music
  15. spell — magic
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rest — a break
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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