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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. toast — bread
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — a series
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tube — the underground
  12. plane — a tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rash — hasty
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — help
  24. squash — the sport

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