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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. plane — a tool
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rest — a break
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a path
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — a song
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — from crying
  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