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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: staff · date · land · mine · plane · drill · degree · racket

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mine — for digging
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — a practice
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. degree — an amount
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. land — a country
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. date — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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