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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spring — the season
  7. stand — to bear
  8. can — to be able to
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cell — in biology
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stand — on your feet

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