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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. race — humankind
  3. tear — to rip
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — to paddle
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to click
  10. race — the arms race
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — a line
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — rain
  18. plane — a tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. race — a contest
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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