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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. content — happy
  11. rest — a break
  12. degree — from a university
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — the amount
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. key — in music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. object — a thing

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