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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. stem — to come from
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. last — to go on
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — finally
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — rain
  19. plane — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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