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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. board — to get on
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. toast — bread
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. plane — a tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. board — a committee
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. row — to paddle
  18. squash — to crush
  19. row — a line
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. degree — temperature

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