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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · field · pitch · fine · snap · plane · land · lean

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. squash — the sport
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. snap — to click
  5. fine — all right
  6. squash — to crush
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. lean — thin
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fine — high quality
  11. lean — to bend
  12. plane — a tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — a country
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — to come down
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. land — ground
  24. squash — the vegetable

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