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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: game · lash · ruler · plane · tear · wind · suit · wound

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. suit — in cards
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wound — an injury
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. suit — to fit
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. game — a match
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. suit — clothes
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. game — wild animals

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