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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hand — help
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kick — in football
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. plane — a tool
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — in cards
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. date — on the calendar

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