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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. race — a contest
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spell — magic
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. race — the arms race
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. game — a match
  17. row — a line
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. race — humankind
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. sharp — clever
  24. plane — a tool

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