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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rock — a stone
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. row — a line
  18. degree — from a university
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. row — to paddle
  24. plane — a tool

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