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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mug — a cup
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mug — to rob
  5. march — the month
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — music
  16. rest — a break
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — a face
  21. shower — rain
  22. rest — what's left
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. lean — to rest against

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