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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. branch — a division
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. season — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — the arms race
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — of the year
  24. wave — with your hand

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