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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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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: mate · degree · firm · fork · cell · ground

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mate — a partner
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — a friend
  7. ground — the earth
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ground — crushed
  13. firm — a company
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ground — a position

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