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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: plane · lie · nail · wax · kid · land · pitcher · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — to tease
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lie — to recline
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. season — of the year
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wax — to grow
  19. plane — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. lie — an untruth

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