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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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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: club · stick · bat · wave · chest · plane · land · bear

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — a country
  7. plane — a tool
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chest — a box
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. land — ground
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. club — a group
  22. bear — the animal
  23. club — for golf
  24. chest — of your body

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