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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: ground · degree · ball · chest · mine · lie · chip · plane

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ball — a great time
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — a position
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — crushed
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chest — a box
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. chip — in a computer

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