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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 116 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: plane · cabinet · hand · pass · stand · file · degree · nail

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. file — a document
  6. stand — to bear
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. plane — a tool
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. degree — from a university
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. file — a tool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pass — a permit

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