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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 120 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: wound · row · tube · fan · mate · cell · mine · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. tube — a container
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kid — child
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — to tease

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