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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. prune — to trim
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. rock — a stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — a tool
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. game — a match
  24. plane — an aircraft

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