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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 · chest · mouse · clip · plane · root · rush · mine

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — a video
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — child
  12. plane — a tool
  13. root — of a plant
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. clip — to cut
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rush — hurry

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