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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · plane · mug · track · kid · patient · pop · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ground — a position
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. kid — to tease
  5. track — to keep track
  6. mug — a face
  7. pop — soda
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mug — a cup
  10. track — a song
  11. pop — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. track — a path
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — to visit
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mug — to rob
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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