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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. firm — a company
  3. degree — an amount
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kid — child
  6. firm — steady
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. fork — in a road
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — finally
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. last — final
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. last — to go on
  21. firm — decided
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. kid — to tease

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