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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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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: cell · plane · safe · ground · wake · degree · bowl · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. plane — a tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. ground — crushed
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — a phone
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — a position
  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