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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a great time
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pass — a permit
  11. row — a line
  12. field — farmland
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — clever
  16. plane — a tool
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ball — a dance
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pass — to succeed

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