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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 · cabinet · field · mark · stick · degree · rush · march

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — for sport
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — the month
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — a subject
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — farmland
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. degree — temperature

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