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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. content — the amount
  3. plane — a tool
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pound — a weight
  21. content — happy
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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