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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. lean — thin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a document
  10. firm — decided
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. content — happy
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. content — the amount
  24. plane — a tool

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