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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ground — crushed
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. root — the cause
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a word
  19. ground — the earth
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — a video
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. row — to paddle

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