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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: pass · cold · root · plane · bat · spring · toast · wake

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. plane — a tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. toast — bread
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cold — not warm
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. root — of a word
  22. bat — the animal
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pass — to succeed

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