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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: cue · swing · mine · bark · plane · net · kid · root

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — child
  5. plane — a tool
  6. swing — music
  7. cue — for pool
  8. root — the cause
  9. net — for catching
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cue — a signal
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cue — a hint
  16. root — of a word
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. net — in sport
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. swing — in golf

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