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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lean — thin
  10. spring — the season
  11. fall — the season
  12. plane — a tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — soda
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pop — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — of water
  23. lean — to bend
  24. plane — in geometry

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