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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: bat · land · plane · firm · net · face · wave · bark

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. land — ground
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — to confront
  14. firm — a company
  15. net — for catching
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. face — part of the head
  23. land — a country
  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