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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — an amount
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — the cause
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. sharp — clever
  13. file — a document
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. degree — temperature
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. foot — a measure
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a rubber band

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