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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — of a word
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. drill — army training
  16. plane — a tool
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — the tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bat — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — a practice

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