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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: deal · roll · plane · mine · wax · spring · dip · net

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spring — the season
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. deal — to handle
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. dip — to sink
  7. roll — a cake
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. roll — a list
  10. net — for catching
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wax — to grow
  16. plane — a tool
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. net — after costs
  21. spring — of water
  22. net — in sport
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wax — for sculpting

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