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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — in sport
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — of the year
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bank — for money
  23. mate — a friend
  24. chair — to sit on

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