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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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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: mine · fork · ruler · degree · plane · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fork — in a road
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — an amount

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