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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. chest — a box
  3. plane — a tool
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — the Cold War

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