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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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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: hand · chip · kid · clip · lash · field · bank · plane

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bank — for money
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kid — child
  5. field — for sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bank — for money
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — help
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — a subject
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — for paper
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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