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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: fan · degree · net · bark · plane · chair · band · stand

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. stand — for spectators
  2. chair — a leader
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stand — to bear
  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