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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 116 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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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: game · wind · deal · stand · plane · degree · pound · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. deal — to handle
  11. stand — to bear
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — moving air
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. plane — a tool
  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