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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. sharp — clever
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. foot — a measure
  17. kick — in football
  18. march — music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. row — a line
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. plane — a tool

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