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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — temperature
  8. season — in sport
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mate — a friend
  11. scale — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wound — an injury
  15. scale — size or range
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — of the year
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. staff — employees
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. mine — for digging
  24. plane — an aircraft

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