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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. swing — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — magic
  16. land — ground
  17. swing — in golf
  18. plane — a tool
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. sharp — clever

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