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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: mouse · last · spring · date · bowl · ground · plane · wax

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. last — finally
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. ground — a position
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. date — the fruit
  24. spring — the season

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