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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: plane · swing · pop · game · spring · wound · spell · fine

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — of water
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spell — letters
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fine — all right
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pop — soda
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spell — magic
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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