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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. swing — music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kid — to tease
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — help
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — there
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — a phone
  20. present — the time now
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hand — in cards

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