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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 · pass · plane · fine · chest · bound · cold · dip

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chest — a box
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. dip — to sink
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — not warm
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. fine — all right
  22. bound — certain
  23. pass — a permit
  24. plane — in geometry

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