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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — music
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. sharp — with an edge

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