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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. board — to get on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitch — completely
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — child
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. plane — a tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. board — a committee
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. sharp — clever

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