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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 · field · wind · drill · land · plane · kid · pitcher

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — the tool
  7. field — a subject
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. land — a country
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — to come down
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — ground
  17. drill — army training
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — child
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. field — farmland

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