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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: trunk · ground · mate · roll · plane · date · field · sharp

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. mate — to breed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ground — crushed
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — a subject
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mate — a friend
  13. plane — a tool
  14. roll — a cake
  15. ground — the earth
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. plane — in geometry

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