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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. ground — crushed
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. ground — a position
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. band — a music group
  11. saw — the tool
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. roll — a cake
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. band — a ring
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. plane — a tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pitch — completely

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