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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · plane · pitcher · chair · wound · net · lie · clip

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. net — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. net — for catching
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. net — after costs
  24. plane — a tool

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