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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. content — happy
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. fork — in a road
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. swing — to play on
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — of the year
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. swing — music
  18. rush — hurry
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. rush — a thrill

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