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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spring — the season
  7. bound — tied together
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — rain
  10. drill — army training
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — a skill
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bound — certain
  15. drill — the tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spring — of water
  24. plane — in geometry

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