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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: tear · bay · spell · kid · pitch · plane · track · key

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. spell — magic
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — from crying
  5. track — to keep track
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. tear — to rip
  20. spell — a short time
  21. track — a path
  22. spell — letters
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — child

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