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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · ball · cap · hide · cold · degree · content · ground

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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 — an aircraft
  2. degree — temperature
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cap — of ice
  8. content — the amount
  9. ground — a position
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — happy
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  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