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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: shower · nail · chest · stand · kid · racket · plane · mine

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chest — a box
  6. shower — rain
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — a tool
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — to bear
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — a loud noise

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