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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · field · squash · degree · mark · racket · track · present

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — for sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — a subject
  11. squash — to crush
  12. present — there
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — a path
  15. field — farmland
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — a song
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mark — a trace
  20. degree — temperature
  21. track — to keep track
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — an amount

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