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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: hide · stem · firm · court · plane · bark · degree · spell

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. firm — steady
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. spell — magic
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — of law
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. court — of a king
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. firm — a company
  20. spell — letters
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. firm — decided
  23. spell — a short time
  24. hide — animal skin

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