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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ball — a great time
  3. march — the month
  4. sharp — clever
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. plane — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — a phone
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ball — a dance
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. pitch — completely

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