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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — finally
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. scale — in music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — to go on
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bound — certain
  11. squash — the sport
  12. hand — help
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. last — final

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