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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. last — final
  3. degree — an amount
  4. plane — a tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. last — finally
  7. swing — music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. swing — to play on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. scale — size or range
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rash — a series
  14. present — the time now
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. scale — in music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — a gift
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rash — hasty
  21. present — there
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. date — the fruit

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