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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: degree · present · fall · game · land · chip · pit · plane

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — temperature
  4. present — there
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fall — the season
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chip — to eat
  14. present — the time now
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. plane — a tool
  18. present — a gift
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. land — ground
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. plane — in geometry

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