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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. game — a match
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — obliged
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ground — crushed
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — help
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rest — a break
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — a kind of play

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