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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: roll · straw · plane · court · trunk · wind · kid · nail

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. roll — a list
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. roll — a cake
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kid — child

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