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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. degree — from a university
  5. plane — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. court — of a king
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in biology
  14. sharp — clever
  15. field — for sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. field — farmland
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. court — of law
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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