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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pass — a permit
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — an amount
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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