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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: wake · branch · racket · field · mark · degree · drill · hand

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mark — a grade
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — for sport
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. branch — a division
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. drill — army training
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — farmland

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