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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. bat — the animal
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. field — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. board — a committee
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — the earth
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. pound — a weight
  22. plane — a tool
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. field — a subject

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