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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. drill — the tool
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — army training
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. kid — child
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. plane — a tool

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