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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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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: bear · tear · rash · patient · scale · kid · plane · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. plane — a tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — a series
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. scale — in music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — size or range

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