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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. field — a subject
  3. saw — the tool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cue — a hint
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — a signal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. cue — for pool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. snap — to click
  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