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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · stem · degree · wax · hide · land · bay · ground

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — to come down
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ground — the earth
  16. land — a country
  17. ground — a position
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. land — ground
  23. plane — in geometry
  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