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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. degree — an amount
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mark — a grade
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. kid — child
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kid — to tease
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bass — low music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rest — what's left
  20. plane — a tool
  21. kick — in football
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mark — a trace
  24. coach — a trainer

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