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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: tube · stock · degree · wake · stick · jam · wind · fork

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fork — in a road
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. stock — goods
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. tube — a container
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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