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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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