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

Word bank: swing · saw · plane · cold · foot · lie · root · tear

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tear — to rip
  5. root — of a plant
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. plane — a tool
  18. root — of a word
  19. swing — to play on
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. saw — the tool

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