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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ground — crushed
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. root — of a word
  11. mate — a partner
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ground — the earth
  14. plane — a tool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. root — the cause
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wax — to grow
  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