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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — a company
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. land — a country
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — steady
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. season — in sport
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. plane — a tool
  18. mine — for digging

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