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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 120 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: land · tube · plane · lie · mine · mark · net · coach

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — for digging
  12. net — in sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. land — a country
  18. lie — to recline
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — ground
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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