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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. board — to get on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — a committee
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bear — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — music
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — in music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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