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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. branch — a division
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. branch — of a tree

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