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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: plane · bore · stick · cell · drill · degree · mate · wave

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bore — to drill
  8. plane — a tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — from a university
  24. plane — in geometry

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