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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. present — there
  3. shower — rain
  4. present — a gift
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. file — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. charge — a price
  21. file — a line of people
  22. charge — in control
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a document

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