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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — a series
  4. ball — a dance
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — child
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rash — hasty
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cell — in a prison

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