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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wake — a trail
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. plane — a tool
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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