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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 116 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: rest · bat · plane · pitcher · cold · field · sharp · safe

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rest — what's left
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rest — a break
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. field — for sport
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rest — what's left
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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