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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. last — final
  4. plane — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cue — for pool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — to go on
  14. fork — in a road
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. last — finally

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