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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: pitcher · field · land · wound · saw · arm · roll · plane

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. land — a country
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. plane — a tool
  24. arm — part of the body

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