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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ball — a dance
  3. track — a path
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — a position
  9. object — to protest
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — government
  16. track — to keep track
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rule — a law
  21. object — a thing
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — in geometry

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