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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. root — the cause
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. band — a ring
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a music group
  14. net — for catching
  15. bat — the animal
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. net — after costs
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. sharp — clever
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. net — in sport

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