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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 · net · cabinet · pit · last · chest · squash · plane

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. plane — a tool
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. kid — child
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pit — in a race
  12. last — finally
  13. chest — of your body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. chest — a box
  21. last — final
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. plane — in geometry

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