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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. club — a group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — a leader
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. plane — a tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. chair — to sit on

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