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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. tear — from crying
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. lean — to bend
  7. club — a group
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. lean — thin
  10. club — for dancing
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — rain
  14. tear — to rip
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. date — the fruit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — to wash
  22. saw — the tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stand — to bear

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