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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spring — the season
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. degree — from a university
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — a trail
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — of water
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. tear — from crying

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