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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: mark · firm · spring · wake · ground · degree · mine · bat

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spring — of water
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ground — crushed
  8. firm — decided
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mine — for digging
  11. firm — a company
  12. wake — a trail
  13. firm — steady
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mine — an explosive

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