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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spell — letters
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spell — magic
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — a position
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spell — a short time

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