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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 geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. face — part of the head
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — from a university
  9. plane — a tool
  10. face — to confront
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. degree — an amount
  16. row — to paddle
  17. press — a publisher
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — clever
  20. row — a line
  21. press — to push
  22. face — to point toward
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — exactly

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