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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. field — farmland
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. can — a tin
  5. sharp — clever
  6. craft — a skill
  7. can — a tin
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — a tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. field — a subject
  18. cell — in biology
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. degree — from a university
  21. can — to be able to
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — with an edge

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