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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. kick — in football
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. swing — in golf
  14. plane — a tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rock — a stone
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — farmland
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. field — for sport
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. swing — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — a subject

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