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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. current — of water
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rest — what's left
  8. plane — a tool
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. toast — bread
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. stem — to come from
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rest — a break
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — a stem cell

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