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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. charge — electricity
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — temperature
  8. branch — a division
  9. degree — an amount
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. charge — in control
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wake — a trail
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. tube — a container
  21. charge — a price
  22. ball — a dance
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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