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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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bulb — for light
  9. march — music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. tear — to rip
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tear — from crying
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — the animal

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