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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. net — in sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. saw — the tool
  6. net — after costs
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. current — happening now
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pop — to visit
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. net — for catching
  14. pop — music
  15. current — electric
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. plane — a tool
  22. current — of water
  23. bat — the animal
  24. degree — an amount

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