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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — a subject
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. staff — employees
  9. row — a line
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — farmland
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — final
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. staff — employees
  22. plane — a tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — finally

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