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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: degree · rock · lean · hand · wake · staff · rest · ground

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wake — a trail
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. hand — help
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — a position
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — in cards
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. staff — employees
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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