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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 124 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 · wound · content · row · rash · bat · rock · plane

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rash — a series
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rock — music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rock — a stone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. bat — the animal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — happy

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