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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — final
  9. face — to point toward
  10. last — to go on
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — rain
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. row — a line
  19. degree — an amount
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — hasty
  22. plane — a tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. face — part of the head

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