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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wake — a trail
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — to cut
  12. plane — a tool
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bass — low music
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — help
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. degree — an amount

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