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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: lie · snap · plane · sharp · cold · march · board · fan

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. board — to get on
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to click
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — clever
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. board — a committee
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lie — to recline
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fan — a supporter

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