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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bat — the animal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — help
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stem — to come from
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — a division
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. sharp — exactly

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