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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
468
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: coach · fall · straw · file · pitch · plane · nail · land

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. plane — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — to drop
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. pitch — completely
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — the season
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. land — a country
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. file — a document
  24. plane — in geometry

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