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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wound — an injury
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. march — the month
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. tear — from crying
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. march — music
  14. cue — a hint
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cue — a signal
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kid — to tease
  23. deal — to handle
  24. march — the month

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