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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: plane · mark · club · march · land · deal · bat · wind

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. march — the month
  3. land — ground
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bat — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for dancing
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. mark — a trace
  18. club — a group
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mark — a grade
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. club — for golf

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