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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · mine · chip · deal · row · plane · court · file

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a line
  10. plane — a tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. file — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chip — in a computer

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