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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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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: snap · chip · nail · pop · ground · plane · bowl · row

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — a position
  3. pop — music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. row — a line
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ground — the earth
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. snap — to click
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. plane — an aircraft

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