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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 116 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 · key · bear · rest · fork · degree · land · mark

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mark — a trace
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rest — a break
  12. land — to come down
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — a trail
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. key — in music
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — an amount

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