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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. kick — in football
  9. spring — the season
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — of water
  14. game — a match
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. capital — money
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. capital — a city
  24. kick — a thrill

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