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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — from a university
  7. game — a match
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rash — hasty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rash — a series

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