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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: present · last · kid · cap · mark · land · plane · sharp

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kid — child
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a hat
  11. present — a gift
  12. plane — a tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cap — of ice
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — final
  21. land — ground
  22. present — there
  23. mark — a trace
  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