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

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wake — a trail
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. land — ground
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. board — to get on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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