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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: spring · plane · key · trunk · field · wind · tear · fan

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — farmland
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — the most important part
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — for a lock
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. plane — a tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. key — in music
  21. field — for sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — a subject

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