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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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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: bear · spring · kid · wind · plane · ruler · foot · shower

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. plane — a tool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — rain
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — child
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. plane — in geometry

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