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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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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: saw · bulb · plane · row · present · chest · last · kid

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. row — a line
  3. last — final
  4. bulb — for light
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kid — child
  8. last — finally
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. present — a gift
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — to tease
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — a box
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — to go on

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