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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: pit · plane · sharp · wind · shower · mine · hand · mark

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mark — a grade
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. hand — in cards
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — clever
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. hand — help

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