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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. swing — music
  7. key — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. plane — a tool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. shower — rain
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — to rip
  23. swing — to play on
  24. sharp — with an edge

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