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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — a break
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. club — for golf
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. plane — a tool
  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