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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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Word bank
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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: fork · degree · last · drill · cell · lean

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in biology
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fork — in a road
  11. lean — to bend
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — from a university
  18. 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