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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: swing · spring · rest · net · plane · fall · wind · saw

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. rest — what's left
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — a coil
  20. swing — in golf
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — a tool

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