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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spring — the season
  3. wake — a trail
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. spring — a coil
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — of water
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. plane — a tool
  21. snap — to click
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wound — an injury

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