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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. plane — a tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mug — a face
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rest — what's left
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mug — to rob
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. rest — a break
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cold — not warm

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