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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 120 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: ruler · plane · season · fine · tear · bat · pound · hand

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. fine — high quality
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — the animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fine — all right
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pound — a weight
  24. season — in sport

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