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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — to tire
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — for dancing
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — a phone
  10. charge — a price
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. club — for golf
  13. plane — a tool
  14. club — a group
  15. charge — in control
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cell — in biology
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tear — from crying

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