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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. plane — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — to rip
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pass — a permit
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pass — to spend time
  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