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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. last — finally
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. plane — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rush — hurry
  12. last — final
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wind — moving air

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