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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. foot — a measure
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. last — finally
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — a country
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. last — to go on
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — the earth
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cold — an illness

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