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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ground — crushed
  6. land — to come down
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pound — a weight
  10. ground — the earth
  11. scale — size or range
  12. clip — a video
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. ground — a position
  16. land — a country
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — for paper
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. land — ground
  23. scale — in music
  24. plane — an aircraft

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