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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mine — for digging
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — the earth
  12. court — of a king
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stem — to come from
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. ground — a position
  23. plane — a tool
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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