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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. content — happy
  3. degree — from a university
  4. plane — a tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. sharp — clever
  15. land — to come down
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fall — the season
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — the amount
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. fall — to drop
  24. content — videos and posts

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