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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.

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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. spring — the season
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — a hat
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spring — of water
  14. land — a country
  15. march — music
  16. plane — a tool
  17. race — humankind
  18. march — the month
  19. land — to come down
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cap — a lid
  24. land — ground

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