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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. field — farmland
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — an injury
  10. plane — a tool
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — for sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. field — a subject
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. staff — employees
  19. dip — to sink
  20. root — of a plant
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — the cause
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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