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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — to paddle
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — to tease
  9. row — a line
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — child
  12. band — a ring
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. spring — of water
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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