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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — of water
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — from crying
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. spring — the season
  19. plane — a tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — to rip

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