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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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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: chair · mark · wake · ball · file · saw · degree · bulb

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a tool
  5. ball — a dance
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wake — a trail
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mark — a grade

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