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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. row — a line
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spell — magic
  5. spring — a coil
  6. plane — a tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. spell — letters
  14. hand — help
  15. staff — a stick
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tear — from crying
  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