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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — a subject
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. plane — a tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mark — a trace
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. mark — a grade
  14. file — a line of people
  15. band — a ring
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a music group
  18. club — a group
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. sharp — clever

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