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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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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: saw · plane · kid · chest · fork · branch · squash · straw

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chest — a box
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — child
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. squash — to crush
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. plane — a tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fork — in a road
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. kid — to tease
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a bank

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