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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 116 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: plane · bat · race · cue · degree · land · spring · staff

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cue — a hint
  7. plane — a tool
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cue — for pool
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — a country
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — humankind
  17. staff — employees
  18. race — the arms race
  19. land — to come down
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cue — a signal
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — in an idiom

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