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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stem — to come from
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — letters
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — ground
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spell — magic
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. plane — a tool
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — a country
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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