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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — a skill
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. club — for golf
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. field — a subject
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. plane — a tool
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitch — completely
  17. stem — to come from
  18. field — for sport
  19. craft — boats
  20. degree — from a university
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. field — farmland

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