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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: degree · spell · plane · fine · foot · swing · mine · wake

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. swing — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fine — high quality
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fine — all right
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — letters
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — for digging
  22. spell — magic
  23. foot — a measure
  24. plane — in geometry

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