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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rash — a series
  7. root — of a plant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. club — a group
  11. plane — a tool
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — to paddle
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. root — the cause
  18. club — for dancing
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a line
  23. file — a line of people
  24. plane — in geometry

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