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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fine — all right
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. track — to keep track
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cell — a phone
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. track — a path
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fine — high quality
  24. track — a song

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