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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. key — the most important part
  5. court — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. scale — size or range
  13. prune — to trim
  14. key — in music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — of law
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hand — help
  20. court — of a king
  21. tear — to rip
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. key — for a lock
  24. hand — in cards

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