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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — to cut
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — a line
  13. net — after costs
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. net — in sport
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. net — for catching
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. plane — a tool
  24. row — to paddle

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