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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pound — a weight
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — child
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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