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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. current — happening now
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. plane — a tool
  9. current — electric
  10. wind — moving air
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. current — of water

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