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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — in cards
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. plane — a tool
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. hand — help
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mine — for digging
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. march — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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