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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cell — a phone
  5. march — the month
  6. land — ground
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. plane — a tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. land — a country
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — the month

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