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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — to come down
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. land — ground
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chest — of your body
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. land — a country
  13. race — a contest
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. ball — a dance
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — for digging

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