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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: shower · saw · net · game · sharp · kick · content · plane

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kick — in football
  4. plane — a tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — the amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. content — happy
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. game — wild animals
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. net — after costs
  16. game — a match
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. net — in sport
  24. plane — an aircraft

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