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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. row — a line
  2. saw — the tool
  3. drill — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. snap — to click
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. drill — army training
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. saw — the tool
  23. content — the amount
  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