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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — finally
  5. can — a tin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — temperature
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. last — final
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. can — to be able to
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. track — to keep track
  22. plane — a tool
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — moving air

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