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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mate — a friend
  3. plane — a tool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. club — a group
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — farmland
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cap — a lid
  14. club — for golf
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. cap — a hat
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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