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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. perch — the fish
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — not warm
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spring — the season
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — rain
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — a series
  23. prune — to trim
  24. plane — a tool

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