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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: bound · racket · plane · hand · wound · leaves · wake · degree

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. hand — help
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bound — obliged
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. degree — from a university
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — certain
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — tied together
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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