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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 120 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: chest · plane · shower · safe · racket · rule · wind · spring

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. shower — rain
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. plane — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chest — of your body
  24. racket — for tennis

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