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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. plane — a tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. march — music
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — the month
  9. file — a tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — help
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. march — the month

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