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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pop — music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. ground — a position
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. plane — a tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. ground — the earth
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — to go on
  23. row — a line
  24. last — finally

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