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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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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: wave · wound · last · staff · band · land · plane · bat

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a ring
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. land — a country
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. staff — a stick
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — to come down
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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