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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: kid · row · cell · plane · squash · land · board · march

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cell — in biology
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. march — music
  9. board — a committee
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. land — to come down
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. land — a country
  16. squash — the sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. march — the month
  19. land — ground
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — to crush
  23. board — to get on
  24. cell — a phone

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