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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tear — to rip
  6. season — in sport
  7. club — a group
  8. plane — a tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. rock — music
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. club — for dancing
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a city
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. capital — money
  20. rock — a stone
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. dip — to sink
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. dip — a sauce

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