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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: foot · lash · plane · clip · kid · shower · mate · tear

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. tear — to rip
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. foot — a measure
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mate — a partner
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. kid — child
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — rain

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