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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: safe · march · pop · board · degree · saw · shower · wake

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — rain
  9. pop — to visit
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — soda
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pop — music
  22. board — to get on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. march — the month

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