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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 · lie · plane · dip · snap · bat · kid · saw

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kid — child
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. land — to come down
  6. plane — a tool
  7. lie — to recline
  8. kid — to tease
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. dip — to sink
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to click
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bat — the animal
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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