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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — after costs
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rule — government
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rule — a law
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pass — a permit
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. last — final
  20. pound — a weight
  21. last — finally
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. net — in sport
  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