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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.

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 · arm · season · bat · cap · rash · degree · bark

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — in sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rash — a series
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rash — hasty
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — of the year
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — to add flavour

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