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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. craft — boats
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — a stone
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rock — music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fork — in a road
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rock — to move gently

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