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

Word bank: degree · fork · wave · file · fall · mine · stock · cell

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. fall — the season
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — temperature
  12. file — a document
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. degree — an amount

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