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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: lean · plane · wind · staff · rule · lie · last · land

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — ground
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. staff — a stick
  8. land — a country
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rule — government
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. last — finally
  17. plane — a tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. land — to come down
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. staff — employees
  24. rule — a law

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