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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. plane — a tool
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. band — a ring
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. degree — an amount
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. content — happy
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — from a university
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — army training
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. band — a music group

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