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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 120 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: net · bulb · land · stand · last · saw · plane · file

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — a country
  3. last — final
  4. stand — to bear
  5. file — a line of people
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — in sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — to come down
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a document
  16. net — for catching
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. land — ground
  19. saw — the tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — finally
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. bulb — for light

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