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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. ground — a position
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pit — a hole
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. season — in sport
  20. kid — child
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pass — a permit
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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