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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pass — a permit
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. ground — a position
  11. stem — to come from
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bat — the animal
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. branch — a division
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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