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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: root · plane · fall · track · tear · perch · kick · spell

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — magic
  7. track — to keep track
  8. spell — letters
  9. track — a path
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kick — in football
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. root — the cause
  18. plane — a tool
  19. root — of a word
  20. tear — from crying
  21. track — a song
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fall — the season
  24. root — of a plant

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