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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. plane — a tool
  6. court — of a king
  7. tear — from crying
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. court — of law
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — for sport

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