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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: net · sharp · plane · pop · degree · rule · deal · mine

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — soda
  7. deal — to handle
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — in sport
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. net — after costs
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rule — a law
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. plane — a tool
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — temperature
  24. plane — an aircraft

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