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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
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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: wind · season · sharp · saw · plane · last · staff · pitcher

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. last — finally
  8. saw — the tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. sharp — clever
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — a stick
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. plane — a tool

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