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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: bound · shower · sharp · straw · wake · plane · spell · hide

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. plane — a tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — a trail
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. spell — letters
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bound — tied together
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — magic
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. sharp — with an edge

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