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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: sharp · content · date · pitcher · stock · plane · chest · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. content — the amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — happy
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chest — of your body
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. date — the fruit
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. date — on the calendar

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