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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — in cards
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. deal — to handle
  15. plane — a tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. cell — in biology
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. hand — help
  21. face — part of the head
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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