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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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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 · chair · spring · toast · plane · snap · shower · file

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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 — child
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. file — a line of people
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spring — a coil
  7. plane — a tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. file — a document
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. toast — bread
  15. chair — a leader
  16. snap — to click
  17. spring — the season
  18. file — a tool
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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