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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. degree — temperature
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. root — of a word
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. root — of a plant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bass — low music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — the cause
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. date — the fruit
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — a box
  24. plane — a tool

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