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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 · march · spring · row · tube · race · rule · bat

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rule — a law
  6. race — humankind
  7. spring — a coil
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. march — the month
  18. tube — a container
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rule — government
  23. row — a line
  24. bat — for baseball

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