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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
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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: bat · degree · shower · bound · plane · rest · stick · land

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rest — what's left
  5. plane — a tool
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rest — what's left
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. land — a country
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — to come down
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. land — ground
  19. bound — certain
  20. bat — the animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. shower — rain
  24. bound — tied together

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