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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · club · bear · wound · ground · chip · straw · plane

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ball — a dance
  4. club — a group
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — a position
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chip — to eat
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. ground — the earth
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for golf
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. plane — a tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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