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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · plane · kid · scale · deal · cap · stem · spring

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. hand — in cards
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spring — of water
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spring — the season
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cap — of ice
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the 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