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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: stick · charge · plane · spring · land · pit · chair · file

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. plane — a tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. file — a tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. charge — in control
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. charge — a price
  9. file — a document
  10. charge — electricity
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. land — to come down
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. land — ground
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pit — in a race
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. land — a country

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