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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · fork · track · row · degree · bass · wake · tube

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bass — low music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — a container
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. track — a song
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — a path
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. row — a line

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