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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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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 · mate · stick · craft · land · pound · rash · plane

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. craft — a skill
  16. land — to come down
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — a weight
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — a tool
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. land — a country

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