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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: hand · pop · toast · plane · degree · wound · pitch · mate

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. toast — bread
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mate — to breed
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — temperature
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pop — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — a tool

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