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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — of water
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — child
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — the season
  8. plane — a tool
  9. last — final
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — a phone
  12. row — a line
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. last — to go on
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a music group
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cell — in a prison

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