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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: rest · fall · bound · degree · foot · hand · wake · last

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. last — final
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — tied together
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fall — the season
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bound — obliged
  11. last — to go on
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bound — certain
  18. rest — a break
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hand — in cards
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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