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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pop — music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. face — part of the head
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. row — a line
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rule — government
  22. degree — from a university
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — to paddle

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