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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: land · ball · mouse · pound · saw · spring · race · plane

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spring — of water
  5. ball — a great time
  6. race — a contest
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — ground
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. race — humankind
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. land — to come down

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