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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — to trim
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. tear — to rip
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mate — to breed
  19. date — the fruit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — magic
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spell — letters

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