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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. track — a song
  6. key — for a lock
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — a position
  10. prune — to trim
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fork — in a road
  13. sharp — clever
  14. track — to keep track
  15. face — to point toward
  16. key — in music
  17. plane — a tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. track — a path
  20. face — to confront
  21. key — the most important part
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. face — part of the head
  24. sharp — exactly

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