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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pop — soda
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. court — of a king
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fine — all right
  19. snap — to click
  20. court — of law
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — for sport

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