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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — of the year
  5. mate — a friend
  6. plane — a tool
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. land — a country
  14. season — in sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — ground
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. file — a document
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. season — to add flavour

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