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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 · spell · plane · wind · deal · shower · game · snap

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — wild animals
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — a match
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — rain
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. spell — a short time
  18. deal — to handle
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — magic

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