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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a document
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spell — a short time
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. shower — rain
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a line of people
  15. plane — a tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — letters
  24. sharp — exactly

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