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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — for light
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stand — to bear
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — a video
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — to cut
  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