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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — child
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. chip — for betting
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — to rip
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. plane — a tool
  24. rush — to hurry

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