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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: racket · plane · pound · date · kick · chest

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pound — a weight
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kick — in football
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body

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