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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — clever
  5. last — to go on
  6. vault — a safe
  7. land — a country
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. prune — to trim
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. last — finally
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. last — final
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. land — ground
  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