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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spell — magic
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mark — a trace
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mark — a grade
  15. lean — thin
  16. file — a tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cap — of ice

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