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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. season — in sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. season — of the year
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a song
  13. ball — a great time
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. track — to keep track
  19. ball — a dance
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — moving air
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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