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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · plane · race · degree · mark · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. 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. firm — decided
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. firm — a company
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — from a university
  8. firm — steady
  9. mark — a grade
  10. race — a contest
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mark — a trace
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — moving air
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. 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