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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. row — a line
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. degree — from a university
  10. plane — a tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. mate — a friend
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. row — to paddle
  18. degree — an amount
  19. sharp — clever
  20. land — a country
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. land — ground
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — to come down

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