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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — happy
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. content — the amount
  12. toast — bread
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. craft — a skill
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. scale — in music

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