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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.

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: bass · plane · bat · land · kick · cold · net · straw

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — low music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — for catching
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. bass — the fish
  10. land — to come down
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. land — a country
  14. net — after costs
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. land — ground
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — in sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bat — in an idiom

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