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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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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: row · kid · sharp · shower · ground · lean · plane · saw

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. kid — child
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. sharp — clever
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. saw — the tool
  22. plane — a tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ground — the earth

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