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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 124 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: wax · land · plane · field · lie · suit · hand · kid

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — in cards
  3. land — to come down
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. field — farmland
  8. suit — in cards
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — help
  11. kid — child
  12. land — a country
  13. field — for sport
  14. lie — to recline
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. land — ground
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. suit — to fit
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. suit — clothes

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