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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: degree · plane · file · ball · lie · patient · land · bound

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — to recline
  4. land — a country
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. file — a line of people
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a document
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — ground
  13. bound — obliged
  14. plane — a tool
  15. ball — a dance
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bound — tied together
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bound — certain
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. file — a tool
  23. degree — temperature
  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