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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: cell · land · fine · plane · pitch · wind · roll · foot

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. roll — a cake
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pitch — completely
  11. roll — a list
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fine — high quality
  24. land — a country

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