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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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Word bank
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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: wound · root · land · lash · plane · kid · ball · lie

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. root — of a word
  5. land — to come down
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. land — ground
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. root — the cause
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. plane — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. root — of a plant
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — to tease

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