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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. net — after costs
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. net — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fine — all right
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — for digging
  13. band — a ring
  14. plane — a tool
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. snap — to click
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. face — to confront
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — belonging to me

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