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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — to come down
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mark — a trace
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. land — ground
  15. plane — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — boats
  19. land — a country
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. mark — a grade
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. jam — in traffic

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