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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cap — of ice
  7. plane — a tool
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. suit — to fit
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a lid
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. suit — in cards
  17. cap — a hat
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a music group
  21. suit — clothes
  22. band — a ring
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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