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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ground — crushed
  3. hand — in cards
  4. staff — employees
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. staff — a stick
  7. track — a path
  8. ground — a position
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — help
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. row — to paddle
  20. spell — letters
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — a line
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. row — a quarrel

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