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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. drill — a practice
  6. spring — of water
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. land — to come down
  9. scale — size or range
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chair — a leader
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — the season
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — ground
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. scale — in music
  23. staff — employees
  24. land — a country

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