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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.

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: plane · degree · wound · bat · mine · dip · stem · perch

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. perch — the fish
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. plane — a tool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — of a plant

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