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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bass — low music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. track — a path
  13. field — a subject
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — farmland
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. track — a song
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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