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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — a country
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a document
  13. field — farmland
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. field — for sport
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lie — to recline
  20. land — ground
  21. kid — child
  22. field — a subject
  23. chip — for betting
  24. land — to come down

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