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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. key — for a lock
  3. roll — a cake
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. key — in music
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. squash — the sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pitch — completely
  15. perch — the fish
  16. roll — a list
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a ring
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. band — a music group
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. tear — from crying

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