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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. drill — army training
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. drill — the tool
  18. plane — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. squash — the sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stem — a stem cell

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