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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. sharp — clever
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. dip — to sink
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. row — a line
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. spell — letters
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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