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

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. land — a country
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — ground
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. plane — a tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — to come down
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. dip — a sauce

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