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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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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: snap · file · stick · plane · pit · perch · tear · row

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. plane — a tool
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a line
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. row — to paddle
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. perch — for a bird

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