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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.

Make a worksheet

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: spell · ground · firm · cold · plane · march · tear · cabinet

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. march — the month
  3. firm — a company
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cold — an illness
  6. firm — decided
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — music
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spell — a short time
  16. firm — steady
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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