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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: spring · band · plane · vault · mine · game · craft · date

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — a skill
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. plane — a tool
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mine — for digging
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. game — wild animals

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