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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — letters
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hand — in cards
  10. craft — boats
  11. root — the cause
  12. cap — a lid
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spell — magic
  20. cap — of ice
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. root — of a plant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a hat

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