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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.

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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: rush · degree · snap · mine · rash · plane · wound · board

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. plane — a tool
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. board — a committee
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mine — for digging
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rash — hasty
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. snap — to click
  22. board — to get on
  23. rash — a series
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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