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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 · fork · cold · stem · wound · degree · ball · game

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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