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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: shower · wave · spell · net · spring · leaves · chest · plane

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. chest — a box
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. net — for catching
  7. spell — a short time
  8. plane — a tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — the season
  11. net — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — after costs
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — magic
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — letters
  24. leaves — of a tree

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