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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 124 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wake — a trail
  3. spring — of water
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — to tease
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a tool
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — child
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spring — a coil

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