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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spring — of water
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spring — the season
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ball — a great time
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spring — a coil
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wax — in the ear

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