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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: net · ground · spell · cue · stand · clip · plane · degree

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — a position
  3. cue — a hint
  4. plane — a tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. degree — temperature
  9. net — in sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — a video
  13. spell — magic
  14. net — after costs
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. net — for catching
  20. cue — a signal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. stand — to bear
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — for paper

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