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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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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: kid · plane · fine · swing · mate · snap · mine · drill

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mate — a friend
  5. drill — army training
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mate — a partner
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. snap — to click
  20. fine — high quality
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fine — all right
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. swing — to play 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