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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 120 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: hand · wax · plane · arm · bat · ball · chip · saw

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hand — help
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chip — for betting
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — in cards
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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