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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: staff · pop · degree · sharp · wake · drill · branch · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. sharp — clever
  5. drill — the tool
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mark — a grade
  8. degree — from a university
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. drill — a practice
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. branch — a division
  15. pop — music
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. staff — employees
  19. pop — soda
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wake — a trail
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pop — to visit
  24. drill — army training

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