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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: land · content · plane · cue · degree · rest · mate · perch

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. cue — a hint
  5. land — to come down
  6. cue — for pool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — a break
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — the amount
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — happy

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