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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: pop · spring · lie · fan · row · plane · bat · arm

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pop — to visit
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lie — to recline
  7. row — to paddle
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pop — soda
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bat — in an idiom

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