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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. plane — a tool
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — to breed
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitch — completely
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mate — a partner
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — clever

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