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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. drill — a practice
  5. kid — to tease
  6. drill — army training
  7. shower — to wash
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. face — to confront
  10. drill — the tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. plane — a tool
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — rain
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — part of the head
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. scale — size or range
  22. face — to point toward
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. safe — out of danger

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