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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. plane — a tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lean — thin
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. shower — rain
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wax — to grow

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