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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. present — a gift
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. plane — a tool
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fork — in a road
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. racket — for tennis

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