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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spring — a coil
  8. degree — from a university
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spring — of water
  17. pound — a weight
  18. capital — a city
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — part of the body
  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