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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. 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. cell — a phone
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pitch — completely
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cell — in biology
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — in cards
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. branch — a division
  24. 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