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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: content · plane · bat · sharp · saw · fan · field · lash

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. content — happy
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. saw — the tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. field — farmland
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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