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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: present · fan · degree · bark · game · plane · mate · cold

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. present — there
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. game — wild animals
  19. present — a gift
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. game — a match

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