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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: key · chip · foot · shower · hand · lash · kid · plane

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. hand — help
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. key — the most important part
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. shower — rain
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chip — to eat
  12. key — in music
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chip — for betting
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. key — for a lock
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. plane — a tool
  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