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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: wake · plane · ball · degree · mouse · ground · last · bat

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — to go on
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. degree — temperature
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. last — finally
  24. plane — a tool

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