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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. plane — a tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rash — a series
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. kick — in football
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — there
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fine — all right
  22. present — a gift
  23. fine — high quality
  24. present — the time now

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