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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: cold · plane · jam · nail · rest · drill · stick · sharp

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cold — an illness
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rest — a break
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — the tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. plane — a tool
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. rest — what's left
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. sharp — clever

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