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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — crushed
  7. sharp — clever
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bass — the fish
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. track — a song
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. plane — a tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — a position

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