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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. drill — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. firm — steady
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. plane — a tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. firm — a company
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — to rip
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. drill — army training
  24. firm — decided

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