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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: cue · bulb · march · degree · hide · plane · sharp · land

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — to come down
  6. sharp — clever
  7. march — the month
  8. plane — a tool
  9. march — music
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cue — a hint
  14. degree — temperature
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. march — the month
  21. land — ground
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. land — a country
  24. hide — to keep secret

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