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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
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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 · fine · racket · plane · hand · squash · scale · hide

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fine — all right
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. squash — the sport
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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