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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — ground
  4. cell — a phone
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. field — for sport
  9. ground — a position
  10. fine — high quality
  11. ground — the earth
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — a country
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fine — all right

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