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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — of law
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. drill — the tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. drill — a practice
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. row — a line
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. drill — army training
  22. spring — of water
  23. season — of the year
  24. plane — a tool

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