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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lean — to bend
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rash — hasty
  14. root — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. plane — a tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. root — the cause
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rash — a series
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. branch — a division
  24. root — of a word

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