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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. plane — a tool
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rock — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — for golf
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. tear — to rip
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rock — a stone
  14. row — to paddle
  15. vault — a safe
  16. row — a line
  17. tube — a container
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. tear — from crying
  20. club — a group
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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