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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. plane — a tool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. object — an aim
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a trace
  11. object — a thing
  12. fall — the season
  13. mark — a grade
  14. ground — a position
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rush — hurry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. object — to protest
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — to drop
  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