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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. plane — a tool
  4. file — a tool
  5. mug — to rob
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. march — the month
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — music
  13. file — a document
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a line of people
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mug — a face
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ground — a position
  21. mug — a cup
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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