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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. land — a country
  3. plane — a tool
  4. land — ground
  5. board — to get on
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. board — a committee
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — of water
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. rash — a series
  15. season — in sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. track — a path
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. shower — to wash
  20. track — to keep track
  21. season — of the year
  22. spring — the season
  23. track — a song
  24. rash — hasty

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