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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: foot · chair · sharp · snap · cold · craft · plane · bat

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. snap — to click
  9. sharp — clever
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. foot — a measure
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. craft — a skill
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. craft — boats

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