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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: cell · staff · degree · wake · can · cold · fork · land

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cell — in biology
  11. staff — a stick
  12. degree — temperature
  13. can — a tin
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. can — to be able to
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — a phone
  24. land — to come down

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