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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: mine · deal · drill · bear · lie · chest · degree · plane

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. plane — a tool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — the animal
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. chest — a box
  21. deal — to handle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chest — of your body

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