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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 120 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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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: wound · degree · plane · rash · fork · wind · ground · mate

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — a series
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mate — to breed
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ground — crushed
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. plane — a tool
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — an amount

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