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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — tied together
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rock — a stone
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bound — obliged
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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