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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. degree — temperature
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to click
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. court — for sport
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — of law
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. court — of a king
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pound — to hit hard

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