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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. swing — music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. field — for sport
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rule — a law
  10. ground — a position
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. field — farmland
  14. ground — the earth
  15. swing — to play on
  16. field — a subject
  17. swing — in golf
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rule — government
  22. toast — bread
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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