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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a music group
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rush — hurry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bear — the animal
  14. band — a ring
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mate — a partner
  17. march — the month
  18. mate — to breed
  19. plane — a tool
  20. kid — child
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. mate — a friend
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a rubber band

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