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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: cell · plane · game · fine · clip · hand · kid · court

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. clip — a video
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cell — in biology
  6. hand — help
  7. game — a match
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. court — for sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — child
  13. fine — all right
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fine — high quality
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. plane — a tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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