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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ground — crushed
  3. firm — steady
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. ball — a dance
  8. firm — a company
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. branch — a division
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. plane — a tool
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. firm — decided
  22. ground — a position
  23. degree — temperature
  24. branch — of a bank

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