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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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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: fall · pop · plane · chest · land · mate · wax · mine

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. mate — to breed
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pop — music
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mate — a partner
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chest — a box
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wax — to grow
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — soda
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chest — of your body

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