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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. last — to go on
  3. plane — a tool
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of a king
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. last — final
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. last — finally
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. degree — an amount
  15. swing — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pass — a permit
  21. court — for sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. court — of law
  24. plane — in geometry

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