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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · cold · sharp · shower · plane · chip · lash · net

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. plane — a tool
  3. chip — for betting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — for catching
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chip — to eat
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. net — in sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. date — the fruit

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