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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — hasty
  8. track — a song
  9. track — a path
  10. rash — a series
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wound — an injury
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitch — completely
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rash — on the skin

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