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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · plane · face · drill · chair · sharp · spring · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — the season
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — a coil
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — a practice
  22. face — to point toward
  23. drill — army training
  24. plane — a tool

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