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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — final
  4. game — wild animals
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. plane — a tool
  11. sharp — clever
  12. game — a match
  13. court — of law
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. degree — from a university
  16. last — finally
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. court — of a king
  22. degree — an amount
  23. key — the most important part
  24. prune — to trim

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