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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: clip · land · fall · plane · pop · wax · swing · rock

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — to drop
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. land — to come down
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — to grow
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — a video
  13. pop — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rock — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — music
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rock — a 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