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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — army training
  3. club — a group
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. dip — to sink
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. drill — a practice
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. game — wild animals
  13. sharp — clever
  14. plane — a tool
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bore — to drill
  22. drill — the tool
  23. perch — the fish
  24. plane — in geometry

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