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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. plane — a tool
  9. present — there
  10. pop — soda
  11. rule — government
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fall — to drop
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fall — the season
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. fork — in a road
  22. present — the time now
  23. rule — a law
  24. ground — the earth

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