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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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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: stock · rush · degree · pound · patient · pitcher · track · clip

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — to cut
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. track — to keep track
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — for paper
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. clip — a video
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stock — goods
  24. rush — a thrill

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