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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 · game · march · mouse · plane · date · chest · shower

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — the month
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a match
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. shower — to wash
  22. date — the fruit
  23. march — music
  24. sharp — exactly

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