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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fine — all right
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ground — a position
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. kick — in football
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fine — high quality
  19. ground — crushed
  20. dip — to sink
  21. plane — a tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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