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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wake — a trail
  8. hand — help
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — in cards
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. land — a country
  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