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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. face — to point toward
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pop — music
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — from a university
  9. staff — a stick
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. shower — rain
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — soda
  16. face — part of the head
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pop — to visit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. face — to confront
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to click
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mine — for digging

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