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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: plane · march · fine · kick · chip · hand · sharp · tear

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. march — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fine — all right
  10. chip — for betting
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — the month
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — to rip
  17. plane — a tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hand — help
  20. chip — to eat
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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