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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: coach · club · degree · land · track · plane · lie · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. track — a song
  4. club — a group
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. track — to keep track
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — temperature
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. lie — to recline
  11. club — for golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — to come down
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. track — a path
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. club — for dancing

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