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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · cap · kid · plane · leaves · land · perch · coach

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. ground — the earth
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cap — a lid
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ground — crushed
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. land — to come down
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — a country
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ground — a position
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cap — a hat
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. plane — in geometry
  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