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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: field · plane · fan · snap · land · club · rush · dip

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. land — to come down
  3. rush — hurry
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — ground
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. field — a subject
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. club — a group
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to click
  19. club — for golf
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — for sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. dip — to sink

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