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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 120 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. hand — help
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bulb — for light
  9. plane — a tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. pit — a hole
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. sharp — clever
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bass — the fish
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — in cards
  24. sharp — with an edge

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