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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 116 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spell — letters
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. land — ground
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bore — to drill
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. spell — magic
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. plane — a tool
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tear — to rip

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