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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: swing · bat · saw · sharp · plane · pound · bear · rash

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. swing — to play on
  9. sharp — clever
  10. saw — the tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pound — a weight

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