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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: plane · hand · chip · land · sharp · prune · shower · pound

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — a weight
  4. shower — rain
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. plane — a tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — ground
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — to eat
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. land — a country
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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