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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 116 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: rule · racket · season · plane · ground · hand · mine · wake

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. season — in sport
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. hand — help
  7. ground — a position
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. plane — a tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wake — a trail
  24. plane — in geometry

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