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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — the earth
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ground — a position
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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