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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spell — letters
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. spell — a short time
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. row — a line
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. band — a ring
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bulb — for light
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. ground — a position

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