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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: key · ground · patient · band · object · face · land · plane

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. object — an aim
  3. key — in music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — to protest
  9. key — the most important part
  10. face — part of the head
  11. land — to come down
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. face — to confront
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ground — a position
  16. object — a thing
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. ground — crushed
  21. land — a country
  22. key — for a lock
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. face — to point toward

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