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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. plane — a tool
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — the animal
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mate — a friend
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — for digging
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ground — crushed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — help
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mate — to breed

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