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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pass — a permit
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. plane — a tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mark — a trace
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  24. deal — a big deal

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