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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mate — to breed
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — to handle
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — to rip
  18. plane — a tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rash — a series

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