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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — a tool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — clever
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. march — the month
  18. ground — a position
  19. stock — goods
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cell — in biology

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