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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bound — tied together
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. plane — a tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bound — certain

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