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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 120 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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bat — the animal
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — decided
  7. sharp — clever
  8. game — wild animals
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. game — a match
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. firm — a company
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — of a word
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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