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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. plane — a tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. board — to get on
  6. kid — to tease
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. field — for sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — child
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. row — a line
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — a subject
  20. wake — a trail
  21. board — a committee
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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