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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 116 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: plane · lean · court · root · kid · cell · pass · race

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cell — in biology
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. race — a contest
  5. pass — a permit
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cell — a phone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. court — of a king
  13. lean — thin
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. court — for sport
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lean — to bend
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — the cause
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. root — of a word
  24. court — of law

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