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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: nail · ball · march · wound · jam · plane · pass · sharp

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. plane — a tool
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. sharp — clever
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. march — music
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. ball — a dance
  24. plane — in geometry

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