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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. track — a song
  2. spring — the season
  3. ground — crushed
  4. scale — in music
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. club — for golf
  8. ground — the earth
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. club — a group
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — of water
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — a position
  18. spring — a coil
  19. track — to keep track
  20. club — for dancing
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. track — a path
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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