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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bank — for money
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. spring — of water
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fall — the season
  13. cell — in biology
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kid — child
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bank — for money

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