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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 116 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: tear · leaves · rash · saw · racket · cold · plane · rest

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rest — what's left
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — from crying
  9. saw — the tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — an illness
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rash — a series
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tear — to rip

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