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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: drill · chest · tear · plane · board · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — a practice
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. board — to get on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chest — a box

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