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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 · land · club · row · mug · mine · jam · spring

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. club — for golf
  4. mug — a face
  5. club — for dancing
  6. plane — a tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. club — a group
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — for digging
  19. row — a line
  20. land — ground
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — a coil
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. plane — in geometry

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