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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. track — a song
  4. bore — to tire
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bank — for money
  9. track — a path
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spring — of water
  12. swing — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bank — for money
  17. swing — to play on
  18. land — to come down
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bank — of a river
  21. spring — the season
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — a coil
  24. racket — for tennis

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