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

Word bank: plane · tear · kick · cell · band · roll

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — in biology
  13. roll — a cake
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. roll — a list
  18. kick — in football

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