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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. plane — a tool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bowl — a football final

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