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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: plane · coach · sharp · rash · kid · ground · wave · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ground — a position
  6. plane — a tool
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rash — hasty
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. season — in sport
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kid — child
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. ground — the earth
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. season — of the year

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