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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. stem — to come from
  3. court — of a king
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — in sport
  9. plane — a tool
  10. craft — a skill
  11. net — after costs
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. court — for sport
  16. craft — boats
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. court — of law
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. land — a country
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — a weight

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