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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. file — a tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. file — a document
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a line of people
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. dip — to sink
  24. plane — a tool

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