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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: face · mine · branch · plane · hand · pitcher · sharp · kid

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — to confront
  6. kid — to tease
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — child
  10. branch — a division
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — for digging
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. face — to point toward

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