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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. kid — child
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. deal — to handle
  13. row — to paddle
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bear — the animal
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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