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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
468
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: bat · club · prune · row · racket · plane · sharp · chest

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. club — for dancing
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — a box
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. plane — a tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. club — a group
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — to paddle

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