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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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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: stand · bass · straw · pit · plane · fan · land · last

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — to go on
  3. land — ground
  4. bass — the fish
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. last — final
  7. land — a country
  8. stand — to bear
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — in a race
  13. last — finally
  14. bass — low music
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pit — a hole
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. plane — a tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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