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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're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. vault — a safe
  10. face — to confront
  11. plane — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. face — to point toward
  15. scale — in music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. face — part of the head
  19. scale — size or range
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — to visit
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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