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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. track — to keep track
  5. row — a line
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — from a university
  9. track — a path
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. row — to paddle
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — a quarrel

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