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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 120 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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spell — magic
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — goods
  24. spell — letters

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