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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. fine — all right
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. wax — to grow
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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