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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pop — to visit
  5. land — to come down
  6. rash — hasty
  7. land — ground
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — final
  10. row — to paddle
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chest — a box
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. land — a country
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — to go on
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — finally
  20. row — a line
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rash — a series
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pop — music

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