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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  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. track — a song
  2. rash — hasty
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. bore — to tire
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rash — a series
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — an amount
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. last — to go on
  23. safe — out of danger
  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