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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. last — to go on
  3. shower — to wash
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mark — a trace
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. plane — a tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. last — finally
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. shower — rain
  23. last — final
  24. mark — a grade

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