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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. scale — in music
  8. bound — obliged
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — from a university
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — to point toward
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. face — to confront
  20. bound — certain
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — an illness

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