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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 120 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: temple · plane · bark · chest · stick · wind · present · sharp

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. plane — a tool
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — there
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — a box
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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