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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. plane — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. vault — a safe
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. land — ground
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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