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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. dip — to sink
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fine — all right
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — temperature
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. degree — an amount
  18. prune — to trim
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — the earth
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ground — a position
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. nail — for a hammer

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