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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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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: plane · degree · date · rule · row · cell · stick · coach

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — temperature
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rule — government
  24. date — the fruit

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