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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. kid — child
  5. branch — a division
  6. plane — a tool
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. last — final
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a line
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tear — to rip
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — to paddle
  23. last — finally
  24. pitcher — a jug

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