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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  3. fork — in a road
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ground — a position
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wax — to grow
  12. dip — to sink
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. plane — a tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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