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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 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. branch — a division
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — hurry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cue — for pool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — for paper
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. clip — a video
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. clip — to cut
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cue — a hint
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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