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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spring — of water
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kick — in football
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. land — ground
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — a country
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stock — shares

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