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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ground — crushed
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. staff — a stick
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. squash — to crush
  12. staff — employees
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — the season
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ground — a position
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cold — an illness
  24. plane — a tool

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