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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — help
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chest — a box
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. game — a match
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bass — low music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — to sink
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chest — of your body
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bass — the fish

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