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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. track — a path
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — to wash
  6. squash — the sport
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — rain
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — a tool
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fork — in a road
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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