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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
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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 · cell · present · spell · spring · race · wind · sharp

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cell — a phone
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. spring — of water
  8. cell — in biology
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — letters
  15. spring — a coil
  16. present — there
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spring — the season
  20. present — the time now
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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