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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: mate · plane · chip · ground · degree · wound · face · prune

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. face — to confront
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ground — a position
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chip — to eat
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ground — the earth
  23. degree — from a university
  24. plane — a tool

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