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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. current — of water
  9. rest — what's left
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rest — a break
  13. ground — a position
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tear — to rip
  18. current — electric
  19. ball — a great time
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rest — what's left
  23. current — happening now
  24. ball — a round shape

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