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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · wound · arm · cap · plane · cell

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wound — an injury
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cell — a phone
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cell — in biology
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — a hat
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cap — of ice
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. kid — child

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