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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. 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. hand — help
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a line
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. 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