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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 120 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: kid · degree · plane · bear · mine · hand · spell · deal

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — letters
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. spell — magic
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. deal — to handle
  18. plane — a tool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — from a university

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