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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. last — to go on
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — obliged
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bound — certain
  17. last — final
  18. bound — tied together
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. last — finally
  23. bank — for money
  24. row — a line

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