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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — the season
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. object — a thing
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a music group
  9. rest — what's left
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — a break
  19. band — a ring
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. object — an aim

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