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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · face · chair · present · kid · rest · spring · prune

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spring — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — child
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. present — there
  15. spring — of water
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rest — what's left
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. plane — a tool
  24. chair — a professorship

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