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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. club — a group
  3. plane — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — for golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. scale — in music
  9. march — music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. club — for dancing
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — help
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hand — in cards
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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