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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.

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: bore · bat · cell · wake · scale · stem · track · degree

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bore — to drill
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. track — a path
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. scale — in music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cell — in a prison

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