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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. degree — from a university
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. plane — a tool
  7. branch — a division
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. shower — rain
  10. mine — for digging
  11. shower — to wash
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. degree — temperature
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rash — a series
  23. face — to confront
  24. plane — in geometry

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