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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.

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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: cabinet · spring · last · wax · ground · plane · hand · rush

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. last — final
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hand — help
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ground — a position
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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