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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: game · bay · scale · hand · kid · wax · nail · plane

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — a match
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kid — child
  10. scale — in music
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wax — to grow
  19. hand — help
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — in cards

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