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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · wake · racket · plane · kid · craft

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — from crying
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kid — child
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wake — a trail
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. craft — boats
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tear — to rip
  18. racket — a loud noise

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