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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: plane · row · bat · foot · land · fall · game · bowl

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. foot — a measure
  3. land — ground
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bat — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. land — to come down
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. game — a match
  14. land — a country
  15. row — to paddle
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. fall — the season

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