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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: plane · cabinet · wave · straw · toast · kid · wound · game

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. toast — bread
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — child
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. plane — a tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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