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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. sharp — clever
  6. degree — an amount
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. plane — a tool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. degree — temperature
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cabinet — ministers

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