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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 120 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — temperature
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a plant
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stock — goods
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. root — of a word
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — from a university
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. kid — child
  24. game — a match

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