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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 124 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — from a university
  8. spring — the season
  9. mark — a grade
  10. track — a song
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — newspapers
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mark — a trace
  19. press — to push
  20. spring — a coil
  21. track — a path
  22. press — a publisher
  23. dip — to sink
  24. degree — temperature

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