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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. degree — temperature
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — happy
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. hand — help
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. degree — from a university
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. date — the fruit
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. content — the amount
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. plane — a tool
  23. degree — an amount
  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