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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · pit · plane · wax · ball · season · land · leaves

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pit — a hole
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. season — in sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — of the year
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. plane — a tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — ground
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wax — to grow

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