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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 · bat · chair · lean · wave · hand · plane · suit

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chair — a leader
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. land — to come down
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. lean — to bend
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — thin
  18. plane — a tool
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. suit — to fit
  24. chair — a professorship

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