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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 120 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 · plane · lash · staff · prune · tube · face · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. face — to confront
  8. spring — the season
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. face — to point toward
  16. staff — employees
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — music
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lash — an eyelash

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