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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — a grade
  8. root — of a word
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. court — for sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. root — the cause
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. root — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. plane — a tool
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mark — a trace
  24. lean — to rest against

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