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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 · straw · wind · chip · spring · season · fall · lash

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fall — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chip — to eat
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chip — for betting
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. plane — an aircraft

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