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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: saw · cold · land · scale · bat · plane · staff · mouse

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. scale — size or range
  3. plane — a tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. saw — the tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — in music
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. staff — a stick

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