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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mine — for digging
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitch — completely
  15. plane — a tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spell — magic
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — a short time

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