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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: dip · rock · plane · pit · kid · bat · mine · face

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pit — a hole
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rock — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. face — part of the head
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. kid — child
  21. plane — a tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. face — to confront
  24. rock — to move gently

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