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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bulb — for light
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — an amount
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — a box
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chest — of your body
  17. race — a contest
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. race — humankind
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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