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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — to rip
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. land — ground
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — a country
  16. kid — child
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bear — the animal
  19. land — to come down
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — rain

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