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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. lean — to bend
  3. plane — a tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. file — a tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lean — thin
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a document
  21. season — in sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. hand — help
  24. drill — army training

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