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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a document
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wax — to grow
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. file — a tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. row — to paddle

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