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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — a subject
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. track — to keep track
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. track — a song
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ground — a position
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. track — a path
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — crushed

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