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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · mine · wake · bound · drill · tear · plane · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bound — certain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bound — obliged
  6. drill — army training
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — a trail

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