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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: clip · plane · degree · arm · saw · hand · date · track

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. track — a path
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. plane — a tool
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. hand — help
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. hand — in cards

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