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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. sharp — clever
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — a country
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pop — soda
  23. plane — a tool
  24. chest — of your body

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