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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. season — of the year
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. saw — the tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. field — a subject
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — final
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. field — farmland
  20. last — finally
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — the tool
  23. season — in sport
  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