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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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Word bank
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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: plane · club · cap · mate · tear · racket · tube · mine

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. club — for golf
  7. mate — a friend
  8. plane — a tool
  9. tube — a container
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cap — of ice
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mate — a partner
  24. club — a group

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