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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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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. track — a song
  5. lean — thin
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. lean — to bend
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — a phone
  24. track — a path

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