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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bound — certain
  6. ball — a dance
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. court — for sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of a king
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — of law
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — a position
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chest — a box
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. plane — a tool

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