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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mate · fork · roll · fine · game · trunk · degree

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. degree — from a university
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fork — in a road
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. mate — a friend
  14. fine — all right
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. roll — a cake
  20. game — a match
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wake — a trail
  23. roll — a list
  24. wake — before a funeral

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