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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 116 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 · plane · season · firm · pitcher · mine · lash · object

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. season — in sport
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. object — an aim
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. object — to protest
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — of the year
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — a country
  18. firm — decided
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. plane — a tool
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. object — a thing

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