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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.

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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: land · wake · mate · degree · tube · key · current · straw

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. current — of water
  5. key — in music
  6. current — happening now
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. key — the most important part
  9. current — electric
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tube — a container
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. key — for a lock
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. land — to come down

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