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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rock — a stone
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mine — for digging
  14. branch — a division
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. plane — a tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. ground — a position
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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