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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ground — the earth
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. squash — the sport
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bark — to shout
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ground — a position
  24. wind — moving air

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