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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 · drill · wind · ball · plane · land · chest · stick

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ball — a great time
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. ball — a dance
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — a country
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. drill — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — ground
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. land — to come down

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