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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — letters
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — from a university
  14. club — a group
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spell — magic
  19. degree — an amount
  20. club — for golf
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bulb — for light
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spell — a short time

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