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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: plane · lean · field · last · pit · game · spring · rock

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — final
  3. lean — thin
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. game — wild animals
  7. field — farmland
  8. pit — in a race
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. plane — a tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spring — the season
  14. game — a match
  15. rock — a stone
  16. last — finally
  17. field — a subject
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. field — for sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rock — music

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