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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — a coil
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — a country
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. spring — 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