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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: kid · plane · wave · land · deal · bat · fork · season

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. kid — child
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. deal — to handle
  10. land — ground
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. land — to come down
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — a big deal

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