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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. squash — the sport
  3. row — a line
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ground — a position
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rash — a series
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. object — a thing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — in sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. plane — a tool
  23. net — for catching
  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