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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. ground — a position
  5. degree — from a university
  6. plane — a tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — a country
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — ground
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. land — to come down
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — in geometry

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