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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a document
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. file — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. file — a line of people
  18. degree — temperature

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