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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. fine — all right
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — to come from
  7. shower — to wash
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. file — a document
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. hide — to keep secret

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