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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — help
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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