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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — to tease
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. hand — help
  9. face — to point toward
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — to confront
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — child
  17. toast — bread
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — a tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. face — part of the head
  24. date — on the calendar

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