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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mine — for digging
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stock — shares
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. club — for golf
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. spell — magic
  17. club — a group
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. plane — a tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stock — goods
  24. bat — the animal

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