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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rest — what's left
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. plane — a tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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