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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 116 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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. net — for catching
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — after costs
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. track — a song
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. ground — the earth
  10. net — in sport
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — an illness
  13. track — a path
  14. fine — all right
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ground — a position
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kid — child
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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