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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. file — a document
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — from a university
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — music
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — humankind
  17. degree — an amount
  18. race — the arms race
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. plane — a tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. mark — a trace

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