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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — a country
  3. bear — the animal
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. scale — in music
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — to come down
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — the animal
  17. scale — size or range
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. land — ground
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tear — to rip
  24. dip — a sauce

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