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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rest — a break
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — the animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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