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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. game — wild animals
  3. march — the month
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. march — music
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. plane — a tool
  13. lean — to bend
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — thin
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pit — a hole
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. pit — in a race
  24. march — the month

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