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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 124 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. 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. net — in sport
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — child
  5. plane — a tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. scale — in music
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. race — a contest
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. net — after costs
  14. scale — size or range
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — for catching
  19. rest — a break
  20. mark — a grade
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rest — what's left
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. 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