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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: wound · jam · scale · hide · last · plane · kid · current

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. current — of water
  4. last — finally
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — child
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. current — electric
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. scale — size or range
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. current — happening now
  21. plane — a tool
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. last — final
  24. scale — in music

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