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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. kid — to tease
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kid — child
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. spell — magic

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