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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: chair · wake · plane · degree · hand · stem · arm · court

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. plane — a tool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chair — a leader
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. court — of a king
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. degree — temperature
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  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