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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: bay · plane · wax · lie · cold · rest · land · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — to recline
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. land — ground
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — a country
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — a break
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lie — an untruth

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