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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · tube · land · patient · net · file · spring · race

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. land — ground
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — of water
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. net — in sport
  10. race — a contest
  11. plane — a tool
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. race — humankind
  14. spring — a coil
  15. race — the arms race
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — the underground
  18. land — a country
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. net — after costs
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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