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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: board · plane · kid · date · march · nail · last · sharp

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. sharp — clever
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. march — the month
  8. date — the fruit
  9. last — finally
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. march — the month
  12. board — a committee
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. board — to get on
  16. plane — a tool
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kid — to tease

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