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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — a trace
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. ground — a position
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kid — child
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. dip — to sink
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — finally
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. last — to go on
  15. bass — the fish
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — final
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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