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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: foot · plane · kid · wind · pop · arm · fork · saw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pop — soda
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. foot — a measure
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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