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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: fan · plane · land · prune · fork · degree · swing · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. land — ground
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. land — a country
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — to come down
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. fork — in a road
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — from a university
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. swing — music

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