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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. game — a match
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in biology
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. last — finally
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. last — final

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