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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a tool
  3. object — to protest
  4. plane — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. track — a song
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. perch — the fish
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. object — an aim
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a line of people
  16. degree — an amount
  17. object — a thing
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. track — a path
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — an explosive

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