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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. branch — a division
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. land — a country
  9. ground — a position
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rush — hurry
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. ground — the earth
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a dance

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