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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. ground — a position
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ground — the earth
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — child
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — to paddle
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — a line
  15. rash — hasty
  16. plane — a tool
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — to tease
  19. season — of the year
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. ground — crushed
  22. season — in sport
  23. rash — on the skin
  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