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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. toast — bread
  6. plane — a tool
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. root — of a word
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. field — a subject
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. field — for sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — farmland
  20. root — the cause
  21. lie — to recline
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. dip — to sink
  24. root — of a plant

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