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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. root — of a word
  4. scale — size or range
  5. spell — a short time
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. root — the cause
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — in a road
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — in music
  18. track — a path
  19. root — of a plant
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spell — magic
  22. last — finally
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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