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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: mate · bark · bat · press · plane · degree · ball · rash

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — the animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. press — to push
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ball — a great time
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rash — a series
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — from a university

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