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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ground — the earth
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. squash — the sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. ground — a position
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stock — goods
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. face — to confront
  16. game — a match
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. squash — to crush
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ground — crushed
  21. plane — a tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stock — shares
  24. game — wild animals

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