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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pass — a permit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. plane — a tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. shower — rain
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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