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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 124 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. firm — a company
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — help
  9. capital — money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. firm — decided
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — child
  14. hand — in cards
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — steady
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ball — a dance
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. ball — a great time

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