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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mug — a cup
  5. plane — a tool
  6. hand — help
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mug — a face
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spell — magic
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mug — to rob
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. spell — a short time
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — temperature

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