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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — a division
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a song
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — finally
  13. saw — the tool
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mug — a face
  18. prune — to trim
  19. track — a path
  20. last — final
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — to go on
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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