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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: season · drill · hand · plane · rule · prune · board · sharp

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. drill — a practice
  6. board — a committee
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. board — to get on
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. drill — army training
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — the tool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — a law
  17. sharp — clever
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. season — of the year
  24. plane — a tool

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