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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 120 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: degree · snap · plane · chair · wind · branch · rash · cue

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cue — a signal
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cue — a hint
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — from a university

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