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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. cell — a phone
  3. present — a gift
  4. swing — to play on
  5. present — there
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — child
  18. cell — in biology
  19. swing — music
  20. present — the time now
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. straw — a straw man

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