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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: plane · row · temple · mine · kid · net · arm · cap

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. cap — a hat
  4. net — in sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. plane — a tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. kid — to tease
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. net — after costs
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. net — for catching
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — to paddle
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. kid — child
  23. row — a line
  24. cap — a lid

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