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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. plane — a tool
  9. vault — a safe
  10. firm — decided
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. firm — steady
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. sharp — clever
  22. firm — a company
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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