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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. plane — a tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — for sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. key — the most important part
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. field — a subject

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