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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: foot · tear · cold · bark · mate · coach · squash · plane

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — to shout
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mate — to breed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — a measure
  16. squash — the sport
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mate — a partner
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. foot — the bottom

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