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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. shower — rain
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. degree — from a university
  5. date — the fruit
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a trace
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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