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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. spring — the season
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. net — for catching
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — of water
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — in sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a hat
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. hand — help

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