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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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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: wound · temple · deal · rash · kick · pop · tear · plane

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rash — hasty
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. plane — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — to visit
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. kick — in football
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rash — a series

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