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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: cue · fork · wind · land · plane · squash · kick · arm

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. land — ground
  8. cue — a signal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cue — a hint
  12. plane — a tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kick — in football
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — in a road
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. arm — a part of something

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