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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 · bore · degree · branch · pop · mine · bowl · rock

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. pop — to visit
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pop — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rock — music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. degree — from a university
  21. branch — a division
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pop — soda
  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