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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. board — a committee
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. plane — a tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. press — a publisher
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. board — to get on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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