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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · net · land · plane · fan · bat · tube · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — after costs
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — ground
  12. plane — a tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — a country
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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