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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wake — a trail
  4. season — of the year
  5. bound — obliged
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. season — in sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. stock — shares
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stock — goods
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. chest — of your body
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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