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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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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: lean · plane · bark · degree · land · roll · squash · rule

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. roll — a list
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. land — ground
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rule — government
  14. land — a country
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rule — a law
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. squash — to crush
  23. land — to come down
  24. lean — thin

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