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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. last — to go on
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — of water
  7. last — final
  8. spring — a coil
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pop — soda
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. land — ground
  18. last — finally
  19. swing — to play on
  20. land — a country
  21. object — a thing
  22. spring — the season
  23. object — an aim
  24. plane — a tool

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