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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — hasty
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. press — to push
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. spring — the season
  15. bore — to drill
  16. press — a publisher
  17. last — finally
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. plane — a tool
  23. last — final
  24. rash — a series

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