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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: date · prune · wind · sharp · ground · march · plane · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. foot — a measure
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ground — the earth
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. march — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — crushed
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. date — the fruit
  23. ground — a position
  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