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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. plane — a tool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kid — to tease

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