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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · track · date · racket · spring · rush

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. date — the fruit
  3. spring — of water
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — temperature
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. track — a path
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. track — a song
  18. spring — a coil

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