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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. wake — a trail
  6. firm — steady
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. firm — decided
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bound — certain
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fall — to drop
  16. firm — a company
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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