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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.

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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: degree · fork · leaves · trunk · kid · date · mate · plane

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. plane — a tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. mate — to breed
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. date — the fruit
  22. mate — a partner
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. degree — an amount

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