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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the sport
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bulb — for light
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bass — the fish
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. tear — from crying
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. row — to paddle
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. row — a line

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