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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rash — a series
  3. plane — a tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rash — hasty
  6. key — the most important part
  7. present — there
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. key — in music
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. present — a gift
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. key — for a lock
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — rain

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