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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — an illness
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — a friend
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. prune — to trim
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tear — to rip
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mate — a partner

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