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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: spring · land · bulb · saw · clip · kick · coach · plane

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — the season
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — a country
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — a video
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spring — a coil
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. land — to come down
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — of water
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bulb — for light
  24. plane — a tool

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