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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spring — of water
  6. staff — a stick
  7. game — a match
  8. spring — a coil
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. staff — employees
  12. season — in sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. staff — employees
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — wild animals

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